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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Top Six Moments at PLA 2014

Earlier this month, I was lucky enough to attend my second bookish convention. PLA, which stands for Public Library Association, is a division of ALA that hosted its bi-annual meeting at the Indianapolis Convention Center this year. The venue lies a few miles away from my house, so as soon as I heard about the event, I knew I had to attend. I went to the exhibits opening reception on Wednesday, March 12 and the exhibits closing reception on Friday, March 14.

Since I had such a great time, I wanted to share my adventures with all of you. The following list enumerates the six best—or at least most memorable—moments of my experience.

6. Getting these ARCs. I grabbed a lot of books, but these four induced the most squealing.

5. Accidentally getting entangled in a salesperson's trap. One exhibitor was a company that makes shoe sole inserts, and a worker called my mom and me over to have us try them on. The liquid-filled inserts felt awkward and made me walk in a strange, lurching manner—I would not recommend them to the librarians the company was targeting. The man was dismayed when we did not buy the $40 product.

4. Getting asked if I went to library school in Indianapolis. One librarian thought she recognized me, and I had to tell her I was a teenager and a book blogger.

3. Finding out that Cammie McGovern, who wrote Say What You Will, is the sister of Elizabeth McGovern, who plays Cora on Downton Abbey. I love the television drama, so that fact irrationally makes me even more excited to read the book.

2. Walking back to my car through powerful winds. This weather would not have been a problem were it not for the (signed!) book blowup of Adi Alsaid's Let's Get Lost that I took from Harlequin on Friday afternoon. The poster board created so much wind resistance that, at one point, I could barely walk. When I finally reached my car and wrestled my things into it, I collapsed in the passenger seat, windblown hair criss-crossing my face, and exhaled, "the things I do for books."

1. Getting to talk to exhibitors and other convention attendees. Conversation is the best part of any bookish event.

I had an amazing time at PLA, and I am so thankful it was in my city. I don't have plans to go to more conventions any time soon, but I cannot wait to attend my next one, however far away it is.

Have you ever been to a book convention? Which ones have you attended? Are you excited about any of the books mentioned in this post?

9 comments:

It sounds like PLA was so much fun! And that fact about Cammie McGovern is definitely cool. I haven't been to a book convention, although I'm dying to make it to one someday. The closest I've come to attending a book convention is ICHE's (Illinois Christian Home Educators) annual convention, and that is definitely not as fun as I imagine a book convention would be.

Sounds like a ton of fun!! I don't live too far from Indianapolis, but I wasn't aware of this convention. I've been to BEA once but I didn't get to stay too long so I'd really like to go again and truly enjoy the experience.

Oooh...I always love conventions / author events! It's always fun to meet likeminded people who share the same passion and love for books as I do! Glad you had a good time Emily, and thanks for sharing your experience! :D

Ohhhh man! Indianapolis is only like 4-5 hours from me! Why did I not know about this! I totally would have went...I have yet to go to a convention; hopefully I can go to one soon! Looks like you grabbed some goodies, what a wonderful experience!Rosie Reads

It sounds like it was fun! I've been to a few comic book conventions but nothing else. There were a fantasy and a crime book convention last year that I wanted to go, but I couldn't make it. Let's hope that I can go this year.

Sounds so much fun! Conversations are definitely the best part of a convention. I haven't gone to any big ones but even so, they're all so much fun! And you did get some GREAT books. Can't wait to hear what you think of them, especially Since You've Been Gone! :)

I CAN'T STOP SCREAMING. Oh my gosh, Emily, OH MY GOSH. First let's mention the fact that you got Since You've Been Gone, which is by Morgan Matson so obviously it'll be terrific. The others look good as well, but I haven't actually heard of them before now (which I'll remedy asap). Now let's mention that you went to PLA, yay! But the part that really freaked me out was that Cammie McGovern, who wrote the book that I LOVED (Say What You Will kinda captivated me), is the SISTER of Cora. SAY WHAT. That's absolutely fascinating. You might've mentioned this all in your email, but I've been SO behind that I haven't been able to look at fun mail yet *cries* so, apologies for that. This just all sounds incredible. Extremely happy for you!

Oh man, looks like you had a wonderful time! I really want to go to a convention at some point. Where I live right now is kind of in the middle of no where, so not much hope with having conventions by my door, but I'm willing to travel :P One of these days, I will get to go to BEA!Angel @ Spare Reads